


Bar Code

by MaxBetta



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, sansan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 22:17:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13420767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaxBetta/pseuds/MaxBetta





	Bar Code

It was 8pm on a Saturday night in Wichita, Kansas. Sansa Stark was nervously sitting on a barstool at the Three Hound Pub, waiting for her date, Joffrey Baratheon. They had been working together at the bank for years, her as a teller, him as a loan officer. She had never really desired to get to know him better, he seemed rude from what little interaction she’d had with him. He had asked her to dinner first, but she declined. He then asked if she’d meet him for “just a couple drinks”, and she went along with it, thinking it would give her the opportunity to learn more about him without a huge time commitment. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all.

 

The bartender was an enormous man, almost seven feet tall, with the body of a bouncer or a professional wrestler. The name tag on his broad chest read, “Sandor.” He had intense grey eyes and long black hair that hung over the scarred portion of his face. His arm muscles were nearly bursting out of the t-shirt he was wearing. “What can I get ya, little bird?”

 

“Little bird?”

 

“Aye. You’re perched on the stool like a fancy little bird.”

 

“Oh.  Um, ok. I guess I’ll have a gin and tonic.” He gave her a nod and got to work making her drink.  Sansa began to look around, swiveling on her stool, when she saw Joffrey enter. He was dressed in a pink polo shirt and khaki shorts, and he was wearing a pair of brown leather boat shoes. He could not have looked more out of place if he had tried.

 

“Ah Sansa, sorry to keep you waiting. Can you believe this place doesn’t have valet parking? Savages.” Still standing, he began waving his hand in the air, trying to get the bartender’s attention. “Barkeep!  Give me an appletini, and quickly!” Sandor snarled and went back to what he was doing.

 

A few minutes later, Sandor had set both of their drinks in front of them. “Will this be all on one check?”

 

Joffrey quickly responded, “No, no, no.  The lady and I are separate. She’s a working woman, no reason she can’t pay for her own drinks, right Sansa?” Sansa nodded, and Sandor huffed and walked away shaking his head.

 

Joffrey and Sansa drank their cocktails and talked a bit.  Well actually, Joffrey did all the talking, Sansa just nodded every few seconds to make it look like she was listening.  He went on and on about his hardships of being the mayor’s son, how difficult it was to find a decent manicurist, and how awful it was that his favorite J. Crew store closed and now he had to drive to another city to shop at a different location to buy all of his cardigans. It had been an hour of him rambling and complaining. Sansa was miserable, and it showed. Fortunately, she was about to get a break.

 

“If you’ll excuse me Sansa, I need to use the gentleman’s room.  When I get back, I’ll tell you about my Summers in Nantucket.”

 

Once Joffrey was out of his seat and walking away, Sansa rolled her eyes and muttered a sarcastic, “Can’t wait.” Suddenly, Sandor was in front of her.

 

“What are you doing, girl?”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“With pretty boy.  What are you doing with him?”

 

“Oh, we’re on a date, unfortunately.”

 

“I see that.  You need rescuing?”

 

“Um, what?”

 

“Do you need me to rescue you?  End the date for ya?”

 

She was about to answer when she saw Joffrey walking across the room and back toward his seat. She made eye contact with Sandor and gave a slight nod, instead.

 

Joffrey sat down and snapped his fingers in the air. “Another appletini, bartender, and don’t be stingy with the garnish this time.”

 

Sandor stood firm, his chest puffed out. “I can’t help you.”

 

“You can’t help me?  Why the hell not?”

 

“It’s 9:03. We stop serving spoiled selfish cunts at 9pm. It’s bar code.”

 

“Spoiled selfish...what did you just call me?  And bar code?.”

 

“Yes, bar code.  And since I own this bar, it’s my job to enforce it.”

 

“That doesn’t make any sense. It’s idiotic!”

 

“No, wearing sailing shoes when there isn’t a harbor for hundreds of miles, that’s idiotic.”

 

Joffrey was indignant. “Do you know who I am?  My father is the mayor.  I could have this bar shut down within an hour!”

 

Sandor immediately grabbed Joffrey by the collar of his shirt and pulled him up off of his stool and over the bar, putting their faces right in front of one another. “Aye, and I could have your head smashed against the wall within ten seconds.  Life is full of options.” He released him back onto the stool with a shove.

 

Joffrey stood, visibly shaken, and adjusted his shirt. “Come, Sansa, let’s get out of this place.”

 

Sansa tried not to smile at what she had just witnessed. “Um, actually, I think I’m going to stay a bit longer. I still have a little more than half a drink left.  I may be a working woman, but I can’t afford to waste alcohol.”

 

Joffrey’s eyes grew wide with disgust and he stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Sansa couldn’t help but laugh. “Thanks...Sandor, is it?”

 

“Aye. And you’re Sansa.”

 

“Our names both begin with ‘san’, that’s funny.”

 

“Almost as funny as that.” Sandor pointed toward the large window at the front of the bar. Joffrey was standing in front of his car, and there was a police officer next to him, writing him a parking ticket. His repeated cries of, “But, I’m the mayor’s son!” could be heard through the thick glass.

 

Sansa laughed some more, sipping the last of her drink. “Well, I think I’ve had enough excitement for one night.  I’m ready for my check, please.”

 

“No charge.”

 

“No, I have to pay you, especially when you helped me like you did.”

 

“Don’t worry about it.  Just be pickier with who you choose to go on dates with, ok little bird?”

 

“You’re right, I shouldn’t go out with a man like Joffrey.  I should go out with someone nice and easy to talk to.  A hunky bartender, perhaps.” She smiled straight at Sandor, and his face turned bright red. Sansa pulled a pen out of her purse and jotted something down on a napkin, then handed it to him. “Here’s my number. Maybe we could hang out sometime.” He was speechless, completely in shock. Sansa stood up and slung her purse over her shoulder.  “Goodnight, Sandor.”

 

He managed to growl out a low, “Goodnight, Sansa” before she was out the door. Once she was gone, the crowd of regulars began clapping and cheering noisily at him for getting the digits of such a beautiful woman.

 

“Oh, fuck off, all of ya!.”

 

One of the patrons yelled, “Hey, when a man like you gets the number of a woman like that, we have to cheer him on. It’s bar code!” And they all roared with laughter, Sandor included.


End file.
